A parliamentary election was held in Estonia on 6 March 2011, with e-voting between 24 February and 2 March 2011. The newly elected 101 members of the 12th Riigikogu assembled at Toompea Castle in Tallinn within ten days of the election. The incumbent government of the Reform Party and IRL continued in office until 2014 when Prime Minister Andrus Ansip resigned, ending his tenure as the longest-serving prime minister in contemporary Estonian history. He was replaced by Taavi Rõivas who formed a new coalition government with SDE. The Riigikogu elected after this election was the least fragmented in Estonian history, featuring only four parties.
The election was marked by the highest number of running independents (32) since 1992. Several independent candidates were members of the Estonian Patriotic Movement and many of them would later become known faces in the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), including future leaders Mart Helme and Martin Helme.
Electoral system The 101 members of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) were elected using a form of proportional representation for a four-year term. The seats were allocated using a modified D'Hondt method. The country is divided into twelve multi-mandate electoral districts. There is a nationwide threshold of 5% for party lists, but if the number of votes cast for a candidate exceeds or equals the simple quota (which shall be obtained by dividing the number of valid votes cast in the electoral district by the number of mandates in the district) the candidate is elected.
Seats by electoral district The district number Electoral District Seats 1 Haabersti, Põhja-Tallinn and Kristiine districts in Tallinn 9 2 Kesklinn, Lasnamäe and Pirita districts in Tallinn 113Mustamäe and Nõmme districts in Tallinn84Harjumaa (without Tallinn) and Raplamaa counties145Hiiumaa, Läänemaa and Saaremaa counties66Lääne-Virumaa county57Ida-Virumaa county88Järvamaa and Viljandimaa counties89Jõgevamaa and Tartumaa counties (without Tartu)710Tartu city811Võrumaa, Valgamaa and Põlvamaa counties912Pärnumaa county8
Opinion polls Pre-election polls put the Reform Party, led by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, ahead of its main rival, the opposition Centre Party. The former is right of centre, the latter is considered populist, slightly to the left on economic matters. Both parties are members of the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. Reform was slightly more socially liberal in comparison to Centre, while SDE was the most liberal out of the parties. IRL, meanwhile, was socially conservative, together with Centre. However, most parties had ruled out cooperation with Centre after its leader's controversial comments on regarding the Bronze Night riots and history of scandals. Date Polling firm Ref Kesk IRL SDE Greens ERL Others Lead 6 Mar 11Election Results28.623.320.517.13.82.14.65.325 Feb 11TNS Emor28252116423Jan 11Turu-Uuringute25191292296Jan 11TNS Emor36 2316144213Dec 10TNS Emor362315135413
Contesting parties
The Estonian National Electoral Committee announced that nine political parties and 32 individual candidates registered to take part in the 2011 parliamentary election. Their registration numbers and order were determined by a draw lot.
Name Ideology Political position Leader Total candidates 2007 result Votes (%) Seats Greens Green politics Centre-left Aleksei Lotman 122 7.1% IRL Liberal conservatism Centre-right Mart Laar 125 17.9% Social Democratic Party Social democracy Centre-left Sven Mikser 125 10.6% Reform Party Classical liberalism Centre-right Andrus Ansip 125 27.8% Centre Party Plurinationalism Centre-left Edgar Savisaar 125 26.1% Russian Party Russian minority interests Syncretic Stanislav Tšerepanov 16 0.2% Independence Party Estonian nationalism Far-right Vello Leito 16 0.2% People's Union Agrarianism Centre to centre-left Andrus Blok 88 7.1% Christian Democrats Christian democracy Centre-right Peeter Võsu 15 1.7% Individual candidates — 32did not exist
Conduct
The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe observed this election and issued a report with a number of recommendations.
Results
Notes
References
External links Estonian National Electoral Committee Poll ratings of political parties NSD: European Election Database - Estonia publishes regional level election data; allows for comparisons of election results, 1990-2011